Liam Debono, 17, has been handed down a three-year probation sentence and fined €5,000 over a case involving car theft.

The young man, who is currently facing separate charges of attempted murder when he ran over a police officer and kept on driving, also had his licence suspended. This effectively means he will not be able to obtain a valid licence upon reaching 18.

Debono was charged last week with stealing a number of motor vehicles in 2017. Inspectors Fabian Fleri and Chantelle Casha charged the youth with the theft of two cars and a motorcycle in May and June of last year.

He was also charged with tampering with the chassis number and licence plates of one of the cars, driving all three without insurance, driving the motorcycle without a licence, keeping the vehicles and trying to sell them.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud delivered judgment on the theft cases Tuesday morning, while Debono stood in the dock in the other case involving the police officer.

Debono had asked the victims of theft for forgiveness in court and they pardoned him, renouncing the criminal action against him.